Means for automatically operating the balancing-planes of aeroplanes.



F. J. OBRIBN & J. E. KORTS MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING THEBALANCING @LAN ES OF'AEROPLANES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29, 1910.

Patented Dec. 26, 1911.

OiBr-[ery KorB By I IINVENTORS 15 E Arron/m WITNESSES:

. the balancing planes so that a proper UNITED .sTATEs PATENT oFFIoE,

K J'. 'QIBRIEN AND JULIAN E. KORTS, F STAMFORD, CONN EC TI CUT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1911.

Application filed November 29, 1910. Serial No. 594,712,

1 United States, residing-in the city of Stamford, county of Fairfield,and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new 'and usefulImprovements in Means for AutomatieallyOperating the Balancing-Planes ofAeroplanes; and we do declare the tollowing to be a full, clear, andexact descrlption of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and. use thesame.

Our invention relates to' aeroplanes, and has for its object toautomatically control equipoise of the machine will be at all timesautomatically governed and effected, and with this end in view ourinvention consists in certain combinations and arrangements of partshereinafter fully described and then particularly pointed. out in theclaims which conclude this description.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a broken horizontal detailsectional view illustrating certain mechanisms which we employ incarrying out our invention-Fig. 2 a section at the line as, w, of Fig.i:-Fig. 3 a perspective view of an aeroplane equipped with ourimprovement, and Fig. 4

a detail plan view of the mechanism which is illustrated in section atFig. 1.

Similar numerals of. reference denote like parts in the several-figuresof the drawing.

Our present invention has nothing to do with the general construction ofthe aero-' plane, nor does it relate to any form of balancing planes orthe manner of connecting the same to the aeroplane, and therefore wedonot wish 'to be limited to any specific form or construction of anypart of an aeroplane, since our invention relates solely to theautomatic operation of the balancing planes so that the aeroplane mayalways preserve a proper equipoise.

1,2, are the main planes or supporting surfaces of the aeroplane whichare connected by struts 3 so as to :form the main body of the aeroplane.

4: are the balancing planes which are hinged o'r pivoted at 5 to themain body of A the aeroplane and are also hinged at 6 to supportingframe7, this hinging of the billancing planes at one edge permittingthem to. be swung up or down in the usual manner.

i The elements above described constitute any approved form of aeroplanebody and- 'xnsnsron'suronarrcmy OPERATING THE BALANCING-PLANES orannornmns.

balanclng planes in connection with which our'improvement may beemployed, and the followin description is directed toward the specificmechanism which we prefer to employ in carrying out our improvement.

8 is a cylinder and 9 a reservoir that are connectedtpgether ina rigidstructure by means of. blocks 10 secured intermediate of said structureneanthe ends thereof. Within this'cylinder is a piston 11 from oppositesides whereof extends a piston rod- 12 which latter projects throughordinary .stufiing -boxes 13 beyond the ends of the cylinder.

Seated within circular chambers 14 in the blocks 10 are rotary valves15, the end portions whereof conform closely to the circular contour ofthe chambers 14, while'the central portions are shorn away onoppositesides so as to leave spaces 16, 17 between the flattenedportions of the valves and the walls of the chambers 14, and open.- ings18 extend through these reduced portions of the valves and communicatewith said spaces. and communicating with the cylinder 8 on oppositesides of the piston 11 are ports 19 and leading from the spaces 17 andcommunicating with the reservoir 9 are ports 20.

21 is any approved form of pump connected with an intake pipe 22 leadingfrom the reservoir, and provided with an outlet pipe 23 which .isconnected with a pipe 24 the extremities of which extend within theblocks 10 and are in direct communication -with the valve chambers 14.Secured to the Leading from the spaces 16 extremities of the piston rodis any suit-' pivoted, 1n each instance, to the outer faces of thevalves 15 at diametrically opposite points, and 29 is a leverwhosc'inner endbridges the space between these rods and is pivoteddirectly to the rods as designated at 30. Within the outer extremity ofthe lever 29 is a slot 31 through which extends a pendulumrod 32 havingat its lower extremity a suitable bob 33, while the upper end of thispendulum is suspended from the -upper plane 1.

The reservoir and cylinder are filledwith water, any suitable stand pipe34 being provided leading into the reservoir for this purpose which pipeis of course closed tightly during the operation of the machine, and astand pipe 35 projects upwardlyfrom the reservoir-to provide for readycommunication with the outside air so as to prevent the formation of avacuum at the intake strokes of the piston. I

The position of parts shown at Fig; 1 is such as would be assumed whenthe aeroplane is in a proper state of equipoise, the pump operatingconstantly and a free communication being established between thecylinder, the reservoir and the extremities of the pipe 24, so that thewater will merely circulate throughout the entire systemwithout'efi'ecting any movement of the piston. Should the aeroplanetilt, the lever 29 will I be swung to one side thereby causing the rods28 to move in reverse directions, and 1f the tilting is pronouncedenough one of the valves will thus be operated to out off thecommunication between the reservoir and the cylinder on one side of. thepiston and to preserve communication pump outlet and the cylinder onthat Sld of the piston just referred to, while the other valve will beoperated to cut oft communication between the pump outlet and thecylinder on the. gpposite side of the piston, and direct communicationwill be pre served between the reservoir and said side, the result beingthat the water will be driven by the pump against the piston on one sidethereof only, thus effecting the lengthwise movement of the rod 12 andthe corresponding adjustments of the balancing planes as hereinbeforereferred to. Of course, a tilting in the opposite direction of asuliicient. degree will eil'ect the reverse positions of the partsreferred to and will cause the balancing planes to be swung indirections reverseto those caused in the first instance. Since the pumpis always'working, andsince the movements of an aeroplane are more orless unstable and vibratory, the valves are frequently working more orless, and therefore the ports of Communication hcrcinbefore referred toare often contracting and enlarging even it the tilting is notsuilicient to cause them toaltcrnately open and close en-- tirely in themanner above described, and therefore the piston is always working moreor less, so that it will be clear that the most delicate compensatingadjustments of the balancing planes may be eil'ected as well asadjustments that respond to sudden or pronounced tilting's.

\Ve do not wish to be limited to any particular pump, valves. or to thespecific conbetween the struction and layout of the valve controlledcommunications, nor is our invention limited to the use of anyparticular style or construetion of balancing planesor to the preciseconnections shown between the ends of the piston rod and these planes,our improvement residing in the broad idea of a cylinder containing apiston whose rod is operatively connected to the balancing planes, andautomatically controlled instrumentalities dependent upon the tilting ofthe aeroplane and operating to movethe piston in opposite directions.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. In combination with the balancing planesof an aeroplane, a cylinder, a piston -in said cylinder havingoppositely projecting rods operatively connected to said balancingplanes, a reservoir paralleling said cylinder, conduits connecting theadjacent ends of said cylinder and reservoir, oppositely'- operatingvalves. in said conduits, means connecting said valves to cause theirsimultaneous operation, a common conduit connecting the chambers of saidvalves, a pump for drawing water from said reservoir and driving itthrough said common conduit and said valves back to said reservoir, saidvalves being constructed to automatically establish alternate isolatedcommunication with the opposite ends-of said cylinder when theaeroplane'is tilted, whereby the piston will actuate said planes, andmeans to automatically actuate said valves. 2. In an aeroplane, thecombination with the balancing planes, of a cylinder having a pistonwhose rod extends from opposite faces thereof and projects beyond theopposite ends of said cylinder, operative connec-' tions between thebalancing planes and the ends of said rod, a water containing reservoir,valve casings oining said cylinder and reservoir and with which saidcylinder and reservoir communicate. a pump having an intake leading fromsaid reservoir and provided with a common conduit connnunicating withsaid casings, and valve controlled comn'ninieations between saidcylinder, reservpir and common conduit, whereby water pressure from thepump may be brought to bear alternately on either side of said pistons.

Tn -an aeroplane, the combination with the balancing planes, of acylinder having a piston whose rod projects from opposite faces thereofand extends beyond the oppo site ends of said cylinder, ope 'ativeconnections between said planes andthe ends of said rod, a watercontaining reservoir, a pump having an inlet from said reservoir,-valves' for controlling eonnnunirations between said reservoir and thecylinder on opposite sides of the piston, parallel rods waoseextremities are pivetecl 20 said valves at diameiricelly oppositepaints, a lever Whose rear end bridges the spaces hetween said rorls andis pivelieel thereto and has a slot in its outer end, a pendulum Whoserod is swung from the top plane of the aeroplane and which passesthmugll said slot and a common conduit connecting said pump and sandvalves, sald 00nd mt normally mam- 10 mining a circuit iahrough saidpump, reservoir mull valves, and. forming pew of the circuit throughsaid cylinder, il'eseweir and valves when the aeroplane is tilted.

In testimony whereof We our tures in presence 01 two Witnes FRANK JQBRIT JULIAN E. KURTS.

ages,-

fi itnessesz MABEL lElAMIL'JDON GEORGE R, 01,032.

